


Emma & Oliver: Drabbles

by winstallenski



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Angst, Domestic Fluff, Drabble, Established Relationship, Family, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Original Character(s), Parenthood
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-01
Updated: 2016-06-26
Packaged: 2018-06-05 19:35:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6718936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/winstallenski/pseuds/winstallenski
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Oliver discovers the joys of fatherhood with the help of his family and friends.</p><p>one shots & drabbles; season 4 au</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Goodnight, Emma

**Author's Note:**

> So this was my first attempt at a fan fic for the Arrow fandom. Originally, this was an olicity fic until I realized that the main focus of the story is Oliver and his realtionship with his daughter, Emma. There are still little snippets of Olicity throughout.
> 
> I’ve had this idea in my head forever cuz I have a habit of imagining my fave male characters as fathers, & Oliver is no exception. Emma’s time of conception is a little iffy, & my explanation is piss poor but in my head she’s six years old, & Oliver met her mother during his final year as a castaway. I don’t know exactly who her mother was but they were kind of together for a while before Oliver left again, and she didn’t find out about her pregnancy until he was already gone (I told you it was piss poor). I hope to expand on everything if I turn this into something more, which I really want to do because daddy!oliver is my weakness, & i’d like to explore his relationship w/ Emma & her relationship w/ team arrow.
> 
> In my head, this also happens to be a universe where Tommy never died because I love him to bits, and I can’t imagine a world where Oliver Queen’s child doesn’t have an “Uncle Tommy.”
> 
> Besides all that craziness, I hope you guys liked the story :)

Oliver felt a sense of contentment as he watched Emma drift off to sleep. Her tiny hand still grasped his larger one, her fingers gripping on tight. Watching her even in this small, miniscule moment, filled him with wonder.

_How could this be his child?_

This precious little girl with tiny freckles speckled across her cheeks and a mass of wonderful curls adorning her head. She was beautiful, and she was his.

His daughter. He wasn’t sure that he’d ever get used to that.

He shouldn’t have been surprised over his years of debauchery he fathered a child, but yet and still he was. The fact that her mother trusted him to care for her after her passing was even more astounding. He was not a good person then, he still wasn’t sure how good he was now, but he knew that for her, he would be better in any way that he could.

The only sound in the room now was the hum of the television and Emma’s slow breathing. Oliver gently let her hand slip out of his, giving it one last kiss as he got to his feet. Felicity was waiting for him in their room, probably killing time on her tablet.

His heart swelled with nothing but love as he thought about how supportive she had been through everything, how supportive she continued to be.

She was the one who encouraged him to accept custody of Emma. Despite the fact that it would mean having a child around twenty four-seven, and no longer being the only girl to hold Oliver’s attention, Felicity quieted his doubts and urged him to be a part of his child’s life. He knew that she was speaking from experience; not having her father around really affected her in more ways than he had uncovered. His own father wasn’t “dad of the year” but at least he had been there.

He didn’t want his child growing up wondering if he cared, if he loved her.

_God, did he love her._

Every look they shared, every time he held her close and felt her fingers dig into his shirt, his insides got all warm and fuzzy, and his heart exploded with a new kind of love he had never felt before.

Felicity said it was that unconditional, instant, undeniable love that parents were always talking about. The kind of love nobody understands until they have a child of their own. It was something that, until eight months ago, he never thought he’d have the chance to experience.

If Felicity had not opened his heart, if he hadn’t decided to choose happiness, he might not have ever allowed himself to feel the way that he does now. He owed everything to her. His ability to love completely and unabashedly, the fact that he could see his daughter as the pure light of hope that she truly was, his newfound belief that he was capable of being so much more than the dark person he had made himself out to be; none of that would have happened if she wasn’t a part of his life, and he would be forever grateful to her.

The sound of a childlike whimper grounded him, and Oliver turned from his position at the doorway to see Emma reaching out for him, her familiar blue eyes boring into his. Her tiny hands grasped at the air, beckoning him to come back.

“Okay,” he whispered with a nod of his head, slowly making his way towards her.

He felt her eyes on him as he settled on her mattress, his back pressed against the headboard. He suddenly felt grateful that he had listened to Felicity’s suggestion and bought the child a full sized bed instead of a twin. Although her reasoning for the bigger bed was something about feeling like a princess, Oliver was beginning to think that he might be spending more time in Emma’s bed than his own, so it helped that he could somewhat fit into it.

The second that he was comfortable Emma lunged towards him, her hands clutching at the thin material that covered his upper body as she settled her head on his chest. Oliver mimicked the tiny sigh that slipped from her mouth with a bigger one of his own. He continued to be surprised by the trust she showed him, despite the fact that he had been a complete stranger to her not even three weeks ago.

It was almost like none of that mattered to her. She had trusted him, became attached to him before he told her who he really was. It was all very overwhelming, and unexpected.

He thought for sure that getting used to each other would be harder, that she’d be defiant and hate him for not being around sooner, and he’d have to jump through hoops to get her to open up and love him, but that wasn’t the case at all.

Whenever he questioned Emma’s love, Felicity reminded him that she was a six year old girl who lost her mother. She craved stability and affection, and as her father, those were things that he was capable of giving her.

After everything he had experienced – the darkness he had seen, the way people demonized him, tried to make him into the monster they believed he was – the fact that this precious child he called his own could look at him like none of that existed, like he was the strongest man to walk the earth, like he could do no wrong in her eyes, nearly brought him to his knees. They had only been in each other’s lives for a couple weeks but already, their connection was undeniable.

Despite how crazy things were getting, he was happy to finally have her with him in Star City. Unfortunately, her mother had passed quickly so there hadn’t been much time to dispute about what to do; Oliver had to make an immediate decision regarding Emma’s future. If he didn’t accept custody, they’d put her in foster care. The child’s only other family had been her mother so there was no one else to step up and take her.

The idea of her living with strangers and possibly never getting adopted did not sit well with him, but it was all so overwhelming that he needed time to think. At that point he had called Felicity and asked her to come to him so they could talk. Oliver had been honest about the fact that he was visiting one of his exes; keeping it a secret from her would have made it look like he had something to hide and he didn’t. But he was unaware of the reason they were meeting until he got there, and explaining everything to her over the phone didn’t seem right. Besides, he had really needed her help figuring out how to proceed.

The news he dropped on her had not been what she expected, and she admitted to being surprised, but the moment she saw the storm in his eyes, the war he was fighting with himself about what to do, Felicity quit her rambling and asked him the most important question.

_“Oliver, what do you want to do?”_

_He shrugged hopelessly, fixing his stare on the hands in his lap. “Felicity, I’ve had her in my life for three days, and I already can’t imagine it without her. She’s precious, you’d think so too if you saw her. She won’t speak a word to me, so it’s hard to know what she’s thinking, but she let me color with her the other day, so I think she likes me.”_

_Felicity smiled as she tried to picture her boyfriend coloring in a children’s book. The image warmed her heart and made her want to laugh all at the same time._

_“Okay, so is that your way of saying you want to do this?”_

_“I do, but…”_

_“But?”_

_She watched him let out a listless chuckle as he rose to his feet and paced in front of her._

_“Am I even made out for this?” he questioned, more to himself than to her. “Sure I have always wanted a family and kids, and being with you now has made me realize just how much, but I know next to nothing about being a father. And now there’s this little girl who is a part of me, and-“_

_“And you’re absolutely sure she’s yours?” Felicity interrupted. She held up her hands defensively when Oliver shot a tired glare her way. “I’m not doubting you, I swear. I’d just hate for you to go through this emotional rollercoaster ride for nothing.”_

_He turned, nodding slowly. “Yes, she is mine. She’s got freckles like Thea did when she was a little girl, and if you saw her eyes you wouldn’t be able to question it either. She’s mine.”_

_“Alright, so she’s your daughter, and you want to take care of her but you’re worried because you don’t know how to be a dad.”_

_“It’s not just that.”_

_“Then what else?”_

_He sighed deeply, gazing out of the hotel window as his doubts swirled around his mind. “What if I can’t protect her? What if someone tries to hurt her to get to me? What happens if I lose myself, and everything I have worked to put behind me these past eight months comes crawling back, and I can’t be the father that she needs me to be?”_

_Felicity closed the space between them and joined Oliver at the window, resting her head against his arm. “That won’t happen.”_

_“How do you know?” he whispered._

_“Because I know you.” Her hand cupped the side of his face as she forced him to look at her. “I know your determination outweighs your fear, and if you’re certain that you want to do this, you will succeed. Now I’m not saying it’s going to be easy, because it won’t, but Oliver I know you’re capable of doing this. You’ve come so far already, and I’ll be here to help you. Not just me, everyone. Your daughter will be the most well protected, well-loved child in Star City, and I won’t let anything happen to her or you.”_

Hearing Felicity reassure him like that had been all the push he needed to do what he felt was right. Despite his doubts, he knew he’d regret letting Emma go, and that’s exactly what he told the lawyer. But child custody laws in their state required a paternity test, so before they went any further they had to confirm that he was really Emma’s father.

Oliver didn’t need the test; he knew the moment he set eyes on her that she was his daughter. She took after her mother for the most part what with the dark hair, small nose, and shapely lips, but her striking blue orbs screamed Queen. They were intense like his own, mesmerizing anyone that stared into them too long. The first time she frowned at him was like looking in a mirror.

Nevertheless, the test was conducted and the results came back positive; Oliver was Emma’s father. Next came the paperwork, and then what he thought would be the really hard part; telling Emma that he was her dad and she’d be living with him from now on. Surprisingly, she hadn’t been too shocked. Her expression while he talked had been unreadable but when he was done, she slid into his arms and held on so tightly, he wasn’t sure she’d ever let go.

They stayed in town after the funeral in the house Emma grew up in. Oliver hadn’t wanted to overwhelm her by taking her away from everything she knew so quickly, so they remained there for three weeks. It gave the two of them a bit of time to get used to each other and pack things up.

While he was with Emma, Felicity took care of things back home, looking into new places for them to live, and filling everyone in on the current situation. Of course Oliver had wanted to tell the others himself, but it definitely wasn’t the kind of conversation to have over the phone or through video chat. Thea had called him immediately, shooting off a million questions he didn’t exactly have answers to, but he could tell that she was excited by the idea of being an aunt.

Now Oliver laid in his child’s bed, lightly stroking her hair as she snuggled into him. Their first day back had been a good one, but poor Emma was exhausted, and he could use some sleep himself. But for whatever reason, she didn’t want him to leave, so he wouldn’t.

He glanced down to see that her eyes were still wide open. He wondered if his first attempt to go had woken her up, or if she had even really been asleep to begin with. At her house, getting to sleep hadn’t been too much of a problem, except for that first night after her mother died. He was starting to think that her new surroundings were causing her troubles now.

“You know, this place is new to me too,” he whispered, speaking of the house he and Felicity purchased very recently for Emma’s sake. “We can take time getting used to it together, okay?”

Her head lifted from his chest, causing her hair to fall in her face as she peered up at him, her eyes drooping as sleep finally began to consume her.

He smiled softly at her, enchanted by the fact that the sweet, cuddly child he was holding belonged to him. Instead of returning his smile, Emma twisted his shirt in her fist, gazing up at him with wide, earnest eyes.

“I’m not going to leave,” Oliver reassured her, somehow knowing that was what she was worried about. “I’ll stay here all night if that’s what you want me to do.”  
At that, her grip loosened and she rested her head against him once more.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw a flash of pink, and looked up to find Felicity hovering in the doorway. Her own smile lit up her face as she took in the scene before her, impressed by how well fatherhood suited her boyfriend.

He watched her approach the bed slowly, and leaned into her touch as soon as her hand settled on his cheek. Their lips met in a simple kiss before Felicity turned her attention to the sleeping child clinging to the man she loved.

Emma had been an unexpected gift, but she was grateful for her all the same; she was the perfect addition to not only Oliver’s life, but to her own as well. She wasn’t sure if she had the right to feel that way, but she did. The thought of a future with the love of her life and his daughter made her heart soar. All she wanted to do was hold them as close as possible, and never let go.

Felicity’s hand drifted from Oliver’s cheek to Emma’s, stroking it softly as she watched the little girl sleep, knowing she was dreaming of good things because she was in the arms of her father.

“Goodnight, Emma.”


	2. His Daughter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity meets Emma.

He wanted her to meet Emma.

She hadn’t been expecting it having just found out about the child’s existence, but the idea slipped out of Oliver’s mouth while they laid in the hotel bed, their bodies intertwined after releasing the sexual tension that had built up while being away from each other for three days.

“Oliver, how are we going to have this conversation if you keep being so distracting?”

A round of giggles erupted from Felicity’s body as Oliver’s mouth left a trail of kisses on her collarbone, his stubble tickling her skin. She gasped when he moved on to her neck, taking his time nibbling in the one spot he knew made her weak. Reuniting with him was always pleasurable; his carnal desires were heightened, so every kiss or touch was even more erotic than usual.

“I missed you,” he mumbled, his lips grazing her jaw as she sighed happily beneath him.

“I missed you too,” she whispered, “but I need to know if you were serious earlier. Are you sure now is the right time for me to meet Emma?”

Oliver continued peppering small kisses along her shoulder blade. “Not _right_ now, but soon would be preferable since she isn’t going to be living with just me.”

“What if she doesn’t like me?”

“How could she not like you?”

“I don’t know. Won’t this whole situation make me the evil step-mother or something?”

Laughter shook Oliver’s body as he glanced down at her, his eyes filled with amusement.  
“First of all, you are not a step-mother yet,” he began. “Secondly, you are as far from evil as a person could get, Felicity.”

She tried not to get too excited about the fact that he was basically alluding to her being a step-mother one day, but that thought alone made her insides flutter.

“Still, this is new territory for all of us,” she said, softly.

“I know,” Oliver responded before claiming her mouth in a steady kiss, taking his time nursing her lips between his. Felicity melted underneath his touch, her own lips moving languidly against his. He pulled away but stayed close, resting his forehead against hers.

“I still have to meet with the lawyer today to let them know what I’ve decided, and make arrangements for the funeral, so I was thinking this weekend would be good. The service will be over, and by then I’ll have already told Emma who I am and that I’ll be taking care of her from now on. That’ll be the perfect time to introduce the two of you.”

Despite her apprehension, Felicity knew that it’d be better to meet Emma sooner than later, and she really wanted too, but she couldn’t help but worry about what the child might think of her. She also wondered what kind of figure she would be in the little girl’s life. She would be living with Emma and Oliver, but she wasn’t the girl’s mother. She wasn’t even her step-mother, so what did that make her? When people saw them in public, would it be obvious that Felicity wasn’t her mother? Did she have the right to discipline her, or would she leave that all to Oliver? There were so many questions, but not enough time for answers. She was sure Oliver wouldn’t be able to answer them right now anyway, so she kept them to herself, deciding to deal with them later.

When the weekend came around, Felicity’s nerves got the best of her. She had stayed at the hotel, taking some conference calls while Oliver was at the burial for Emma’s mother. The day before they had received the results from the paternity test Oliver had taken, which confirmed what they had already known. With that out of the way, he could now legally sign the custody papers, which he would be doing that afternoon.

The entire time she had been getting ready, and on the drive over to the lawyer’s office, Felicity’s doubts invaded her mind. She started to wonder if she was in over her head. She had no idea what part she played in this situation besides being the love of Oliver’s life, but she knew that from this point on, she had to be something more than that.

Her nerves had her on edge even as she stood outside the lawyer’s building. Somewhere behind that door there was a little girl whose life was being put in the hands of her boyfriend, and somehow she fit into the whole equation. It was all starting to set in that this was actually happening, that in fifteen minutes Oliver would be a father in the eyes of the law, and someday soon that little girl would be sleeping in a bedroom down the hall from their own.

Felicity thought she might throw up as she walked up the steps to that building, but the second she pulled the doors open and stepped inside, any doubts or ill feelings she had been having melted away.

There in the lobby stood her boyfriend, and bundled in his arms was the cutest little girl she had ever laid eyes on. Oliver was wiping her nose with a tissue he pulled from the box he held in one hand, whispering softly to the child as she sniffled. Her nose was red, her eyes bloodshot from all the tears she had shed that afternoon. Looking at her from where she stood, Felicity could see the resemblance she bore to Oliver. He hadn’t been lying about the eyes; they really were like his but bigger, rounder, even prettier if that was possible. They were the same shade of blue, and right then, they held the same bit of despair that used to cloud his own. 

Felicity watched as the child clung to him like a lifeline. She looked so small and fragile. Broken.

In that moment, Felicity realized the role she wanted to play in that child’s life, the role she needed to play. It didn’t matter if she couldn’t put a label to who she was just yet, all that mattered was Emma. She was going to help Oliver put the pieces of his daughter’s life back together. She was going to repair her broken soul and bring happiness back into her life the same way she did with his.

She prayed the child would allow her to do that much.


	3. A Home For Emma

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver and Felicity decide to move.

Oliver paced the hotel room floor as he waited for Felicity to come back with lunch. Emma was napping on the bed, worn out from all the packing they had done that morning.

It had been a week since he had been given custody of his daughter, a week since they had laid her mother to rest. Emma was obviously taking her passing hard. It was difficult to know exactly how she was feeling because she had vowed herself to silence; when she found out her mother was dying, she only talked directly to her because she wanted her to remember her voice when she was gone. She thought talking to other people would waste it, and her mother had always told her that her voice was her most favorite sound in the entire world.

Now that she had passed, Emma continued her vow of silence, refusing to speak a word to anyone. The pediatric therapist that had visited them said it was her way of grieving and processing the loss, and that she would speak again eventually, most likely when she felt well-adjusted to her new situation.

Oliver hoped that would be sooner rather than later. Her silence made it difficult to communicate – not impossible, but difficult. So far, their system consisted of handwritten notes and drawings, which was more helpful than he thought it would be because for a six year old Emma was very good at spelling, but he still wanted more. Luckily for him, she was an extremely expressive child so it wasn’t too hard to read her emotions. Still he hoped to have the pleasure of hearing her talk someday soon.

It was a shame, not knowing the sound of your own daughter’s voice.

The two of them had been spending most of their time in Emma’s childhood home, packing up whatever belonged to her along with her mother’s things. All of the furniture was to be sold, but Oliver made sure that the things that mattered stayed. Her mother’s jewelry, her perfume, a few of her clothes; he knew it was important to allow Emma to hold on to certain items so that her memory would be preserved. However, they couldn’t keep everything - so much of it would have to go.

Being in that house, seeing where his daughter had grown up, it all got him thinking about where he was bringing her. The lawns here were lush green, the neighborhood quiet and beautiful in its diversity. The place reminded him of where he and Felicity had lived after traveling the world during their time away. Now they were confined to the loft he once shared with Thea, overlooking their troubled city.

As Oliver watched Emma sleep, something he did all the time now that they were a family, he thought about raising her in that two bedroom apartment where he laid his head every night with the woman of his dreams, and he realized that he didn’t want to bring her back there.

What he did want was the ability to stand on his own porch, and watch his daughter run around and play with neighborhood children. He wanted her to grow up in a place where she could ride her bike without falling into traffic. The thought of raising her right in the middle of the city bothered him to no end; he wanted to give her the best of everything, and that was exactly what he was going to do. Just as long as Felicity agreed to it.

Wanting to help Oliver as much as she could, Felicity had made arrangements at work that allowed her to leave on Thursdays so she could return to him and Emma for the weekends. An arrangement that would continue until they moved back to Star City.

It was Friday, and Oliver had been thinking all week about their living situation. He would have brought it up with her the night before when she first got back, but one thing led to another, and they had suddenly found themselves distracted by more pleasurable matters.

Now he was certain that he wanted to move – not away from the city, but into a house.  
He would not dwell on it too much because he knew how much Felicity loved being back, but he still found himself missing the domestic life they had lived during their time away, and now was the perfect time to get it back – or at least part of it.

Just as he was beginning to formulate how to broach the subject, the hotel room door swung open and in walked Felicity, her hands full with Big Belly Burger takeout.

“Sorry it took so long,” she said. “The drive-thru was insane. An Amish family was at the window, and then their horse took a huge poop, and when I say huge, I am not kidding. I think it was sick or something because it just kept pooping and then it wouldn’t move and-“

“Okay, we’re about to eat so can you hold back on the whole poop thing?” Oliver interrupted.

Felicity nodded. “Yeah sorry, it was just strange. I didn’t think Amish people went to Big Belly Burger.”

“I’m pretty sure nothing about their religion prohibits them from eating fast food.”

Oliver pressed a quick kiss to her lips before grabbing the food from her hands, making his way across the room and laying it out on the table by the window.

Felicity sat herself on the bed opposite to Emma, watching her with adoring eyes as she pulled off her shoes.

“She is so cute,” she whispered. “I see why you like watching her so often. Should I wake her up?”

“No, actually I need to talk to you about something.”

“Alright, what’s up?”

Oliver reached for her hand as he took a seat beside her, rubbing the pad of his thumb against her knuckles. “Well, I’ve been thinking. . . I know you weren’t so crazy about it the first time, but since it’s no longer going to be just the two of us, the loft isn’t exactly ideal for a family and-“

“Oliver, if this is about us moving to the suburbs, I am already three steps ahead of you.”

His face contorted in confusion as he watched Felicity cross the room to her bag and pull out her tablet before climbing back on the bed with him. Her fingers tapped away on the screen, pulling up images of houses from a real estate app she had been browsing.

“Okay so last week after I got back to the city, I was looking around our place and all I could think was, she cannot live here,” Felicity stated. “I mean we live in a high rise apartment, your sister almost died there, it is no place to raise a child, Oliver.” She tapped on the screen again, pointing to a two story home that reminded him of their old one.

“I searched every option available, but this was the one that stood out to me the most. It has four bedrooms. That’s two more than we need but I figured we could turn one into a play room for Emma, and the other could be a home office for us since I imagine there will be times when we won’t be able to make it to work if she gets sick or something. Also, the kitchen is enormous. You can cook breakfast in the morning, we can have people over; you are going to love it.”

Before Oliver could get a word in, her fingers tapped on the screen again, pulling up an image of the neighborhood.

“I know I kind of jumped the gun, but I’ve already been to the neighborhood. It’s wonderful. The people seem nice, it’s quiet, there’s plenty of places for you to run in the morning. Mountainridge Academy is the closest elementary school. It’s a private school but we can totally afford it, especially since they don’t do the whole uniform thing, which I found sort of odd because-“

“Felicity.”

She glanced up from her tablet, her eyes meeting his gaze as he stared at her in wonderment.

“Do you have any idea how much I love you right now?”

She graced him with her radiant smile, the smile he had fallen in love with. Felicity brushed her lips against his softly, savoring the taste of him.

“These people are ready to sell. Say the word, and the house is ours.”

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely. I want this to work just as much as you do.” She glanced past his shoulder at the sleeping child inhabiting the bed next to them. “I want her to be happy.”

Oliver’s hand tightened around hers as he turned to gaze at Emma. She continued to nap soundly, clutching the stuffed bunny that helped her sleep.

“That’s all I want too.”


	4. Aunt Thea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma meets her Aunt Thea.

Emma sat in the back of her father’s car, twisting uncomfortably in the booster seat he had bought for her. She never liked booster seats, but her mother had always said she was too small to ride in the car without one, and it looked like her dad thought the same thing.

She wasn’t sure how long they had been driving for, but to her it felt like days. Her bottom was beginning to ache from sitting on it for so long, and all she wanted to do was stretch her legs for a minute. She would have asked her dad to stop, but that would mean talking and she didn’t want to do that yet.

It wasn’t cause she didn’t like him, because she did. But if she started talking now, people would expect things from her. They’d want her to talk about her feelings, and her mom, and they’d want to know what her favorite color was, and she just didn’t want to discuss those things right now. She hoped her dad understood that, and that it didn’t hurt his feelings too much because she really did like him.

She liked his name a lot. Oliver. It was a nice name for a boy, and it reminded her of that one movie with a cat who had the same name. She wondered if he had ever seen it, and if that was why his parents named him Oliver. She wondered if he liked her name as much as she liked his.

Emma liked having a daddy. She had always pondered over what it would be like to have a dad like the other kids she knew. Their fathers were nice, and did all the things that daddies were supposed to do. They took them to the zoo, taught them how to ride bikes, picked them up over their heads and pretended they were gonna drop them even though they never would. It had always made her feel bad to see her friends with their dads; she felt jealous then because she didn’t have one. Now she did.

He hasn’t taken her to the zoo or anything yet, but he was doing a lot of other things for her. He showed up a few days before her mother died, and he hadn’t left since. He held her all the time, even when she wasn’t crying, which she didn’t mind because being in his arms made her feel safe, loved. He colored with her whenever she wanted him too, and he wasn’t messy about it – he actually stayed inside the lines. He talked to her, and made an effort to understand her even though she wouldn’t talk back, unlike some other adults who would just give up. And he was a good cook – he made the best macaroni & cheese she’d ever had.

Emma hoped things between her and Oliver would continue to be as good as they are now. Since her mom was gone, he was going to be taking care of her.

She missed her mom a lot. So much that it left an ache in her heart that just wouldn’t go away. But she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t happy that her dad showed up when he did. For a while she thought she would have to stay at the children’s home – sleep on an uncomfortable bed and spend her days with kids she didn’t know. It had frightened her to think about how much would change when her mother was gone.

The day she met Oliver, she knew he was supposed to mean something to her. She knew he was special. All her mother had told her was that he was a good friend from her past, and that he might hang around for a while, but she had known there was more to it than that.

Despite having to leave the home she grew up in and all the people that she knew, Emma was glad that her daddy came to her rescue. Kind of like a knight in shining armor.

She wondered if he was going to be good at all the other things daddies do. Would he take her to and from school every day? Would he make her lunch or after-school snacks? Would he kiss her booboos when she got hurt, or read her bedtime stories when she asked? She really hoped he would.

All the thoughts racing through Emma’s mind came to a halt when she realized that the car had stopped. _Were they finally where they were supposed to be?_

The door on her side opened, and she turned her head to find Oliver peering in at her. He smiled as he leaned over and started unbuckling her booster seat. She didn’t know, but he had noticed her becoming restless when he had glanced back at her through his rearview mirror.

“I thought that we could stretch our legs for a minute. Is that alright?” Emma nodded, wrapping her arms around his neck as he lifted her out of the car. Looking past his shoulder, she could see that they were at a park. It was early, but there were tons of people around; walking their dogs, catching up with friends, watching their children. She wondered where exactly they were because she had never seen this park before.

The second her feet touched the ground, she felt a thousand times better. She really didn’t like long drives.

Oliver reached for her hand and she happily grasped it, squeezing his fingers in her palm. They strolled leisurely around the park, silently enjoying each other’s company. She would look up at him every once in a while just because. She noticed how much bigger he was than some of the other daddies around them, and she didn’t know why, but it made her happy to think that he was somehow stronger than those guys.

He could feel her gaze on him, so he glanced down and smiled at her. She wanted to return it, but she wasn’t sure if it was okay to smile yet. Instead she reached up, arms outstretched, silently asking him to pick her up. He obliged, scooping her up in his arms and holding her close to his chest before continuing on their walk.

Oliver brushed a few unruly curls away from her face. “We’re only thirty minutes away from Star City now.”

Emma watched him closely as he talked. She wasn’t good with time, but she knew that thirty minutes wasn’t that long.

“We’ll be with Felicity soon in our new house, and you’ll get to meet your Aunt Thea.”

She liked Felicity. She was pretty, funny, and nice. She talked a lot sometimes, but Emma didn’t mind. It was fun to listen to her fumble over words. Her name was pretty too, but it was kind of long. She decided that she would call her Lissie instead.

She was curious about Thea. She had never had an aunt before, so naturally she wondered what she’d be like. Some of her classmates would talk about their aunts, and how they were cooler than their parents, but she wasn’t sure if that would be the case. So far, her dad was pretty cool.

“There are a few other people who would like to meet you too,” Oliver continued, “but they will have to wait a bit. You’ll like them though. They’re family. Sort of.”

She had heard him and Lissie talk about their friends before. She wondered if they were the same people that wanted to meet her.

“We’re going to keep you out of school for a little while, which means you’ll be spending a lot of time with me. At home and at work. I don’t know if you know what a mayor does, but it’s a person who takes care of their city, and that might be my job soon.”

Emma rested her head on his shoulder. Being a mayor sounded like an important job, but she didn’t doubt that he could do it. She bet he could do anything.

♔♔♔♔♔

“Are they here yet?”

Thea ran excitedly from the kitchen into the living room of her brother’s new house after hearing the front door open. It had been three weeks since she last saw him, and although she missed him, she was more excited about the little person he was bringing home.

She was an aunt. An actual aunt!

Oliver had been pretty vague on the details, but what she did know was that her name was Emma, she was six years old, and according to Felicity, she was incredibly adorable.

No amount of words could explain how excited she was. After all the family they had lost, she was happy to be gaining a new member. With Moira and Robert gone, all she had left was Oliver, and her half-brother Tommy. She wanted nothing more than to make their family whole again, and maybe somehow this child would help.

Felicity entered the room, waving a package in her hand. “No, Thea, it was the mailman.”

Thea huffed as she plopped down on the only piece of furniture that inhabited the spacious living area. “What is taking them so long?”

“Oh hush, they’ll be here any minute.”

“Do you think she’ll like me?”

“Of course! There’s no reason not to. Just remember not to be offended when she doesn’t talk to you. It’s not because she doesn’t like you, it’s just her way of coping.”

Thea nodded, her own heart aching for the girl as she thought about what she was going through. She knew all too well herself what it was like to lose a parent, and she hated that her niece had to go through it at such a young age, but as her family she would help her get through the pain in any way she could.

Just when she thought she couldn’t wait any longer, she heard a car pull into the driveway. Felicity’s eyes widened as she ran to the window and peered outside. A gasp escaped her lips, her eyes meeting Thea’s from across the room.

“They’re here.”

In half a second, the two girls were scrambling to the door, their excitement getting the best of them. Felicity stopped halfway, holding her arm out to block Thea from going any further. They decided it’d be best if they waited in the foyer. Neither one of them wanted to overwhelm the little girl who would be stepping into their lives permanently in fifteen seconds.

When the door swung open, Thea was met with an overwhelmingly adorable sight. Her brother stood in the doorway with the dopiest grin she had ever seen, and in his arms was her niece.

Her curls cascaded down her back, her bottom lip tucked between her teeth as she gazed around her. She had a tiny button nose, rosy cheeks, and she wore a soft blue dress that made her look like an angel. She was beautiful.

She barely heard the words ‘Aunt Thea’ as she stared at the child, completely consumed and in awe of the fact that she was her brother’s daughter, her family.

“Hi there,” she managed to say.

Emma’s piercing blue eyes met her own, instantly warming her heart as she stared back at her.

“We don’t know much about each other yet,” she continued, “but I promise we are going to be the best of friends. Is that okay?”

The tiny child nodded, and let one of her hands unravel from her father’s shirt, so she could reach out towards her.

Thea smiled as she grasped Emma’s hand in her own. It wasn’t much, but it was enough. In time, she hoped her niece would allow her to get close to her. She wanted nothing more than to bond, and looked forward to whatever the future held for them. Babysitting, dance recitals, birthday parties; she was ready for it all.

In that moment she felt immensely proud of Oliver for taking on such a huge responsibility, and even more grateful for bringing such a precious person into their lives.

From that point on, the future didn’t seem as bleak as it once was.


	5. 01

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the alternate version of the story that I was talking about. Let me know what you think :)

  * _After finally defeating Damien Darhk, Star City is on the long, hard road to recovery. Oliver Queen is now mayor of the city, and is doing his best to restore his hometown back to its former glory.  
Along with his newfound responsibilities to the city, Oliver has also taken on another demanding role – single father. _



 

The warmth of the morning sun beat down on Oliver’s bare back as he laid face down in his bed, the rays shining brightly through his window. He stirred while the heat warmed him, burying his head deeper into his pillow in an attempt to avoid the inevitable – waking up.

This wasn’t like him. He had always been a morning person. His traumatic nightmares saw to that. Ever since the island, sleep had not come easy to him. But recently, that was all he ever wanted.

Since becoming mayor he had been putting in long hours at the office, and even longer hours in the streets, ridding the city of as many goons as he possibly could. But the demands of his night job and his day job didn’t even compare to the ample amount of effort he was putting into his most challenging job yet.

Fatherhood.

Oliver grumbled incoherently as he heard his bedroom door creak open, followed by the distinct pitter patter of tiny feet against the hardwood floor. He couldn’t help but smile to himself while he laid immobile in the comfort of his sheets and waited for the tiny person who had just entered his room to join him.

Just as he had predicted, the bed dipped and suddenly he felt an extra weight on his back. Dark curls fell against his cheek, blinding his vision and tickling his skin.

“You know, most children have to be dragged from their beds in the mornings,” Oliver mumbled. “But you’re not most children, are you?”

He heard a distinct “hmph” sound emit from the child. His sweet, adorable child.

Reluctantly, Oliver began to sit up, reaching around his back to pull his daughter around to face him. She crawled onto his side, taking up residence on his pillow as a tiny yawn escaped her mouth. He smiled sleepily at the six-year-old, her familiar blue eyes twinkling in the morning light.

“Emma,” he began, his voice laden with sleep. “I know you’re excited for your first day, but you don’t have to be to school for three more hours.”

Emma peered over at the clock on his nightstand, scrunching her tiny nose as she realized how early it was. She looked back at Oliver who she could tell was beyond exhausted, and not exactly pleased to be awake at such an ungodly hour.

 

“Can we sleep just a little longer? Please?”

As soon as she nodded her agreement, Oliver laid back down, pulling her closer to his chest as he settled into his mattress. Almost immediately, Emma began to doze off. He could feel her curiously tracing his visible scars as sleep began to consume her. She had quickly become fascinated with them and he could always tell by the expression on her face whenever she caught a glimpse of his wounds that, inside that imaginative brain of hers, she was desperately trying to figure out for herself how he had been afflicted with such atrocious contusions.

He hadn’t meant for her to see them. He always got too warm at night, no matter the time of year, so he wasn’t used to sleeping with a shirt on. He always put her down before he got ready for bed himself, and he made a point to cover himself before waking her in the mornings. But when her nightmares started, his little routine flew right out the window.

One night Emma woke up screaming, and of course he ran to her without a second thought. It was an instinct every parent knew. When he got to her she was trembling, tears pouring from her terrified eyes. So he scooped her up and brought her back to his room. He hadn’t realized until after he turned the lights on that he was shirtless, but it was too late – Emma was already fixated with his scars.

He had been caught off guard; he didn’t know what to tell her, so he said nothing. He had stood in silence, clenching and unclenching his hands as he nervously thought about what she might say, believing that her curiosity would get the best of her and she’d be so transfixed with his wounds that she’d absolutely have to ask him what happened. But even his battle scars couldn’t lure her out of her reclusive state. Instead, Emma had simply stared up at him with questioning eyes, her nose red from all the crying she had done. She sat and traced his scars until she fell asleep.

It had become a habit; whenever Emma woke up from a nightmare, Oliver would rush in to comfort her and she’d outline the marks on his skin until she felt safe enough to sleep again. He didn’t mind so much since the routine seemed to bring her some form of solace in her time of distress, and that was all he wanted.

Laying with her now, the deep hum of her breathing was a source of comfort of his own. It was always silent moments like these that caused an overwhelming amount of emotion to bubble up inside his chest, filling him to the brim until he truly felt like he would burst at the seams from all the love he felt for the little girl who had entered his life by chance.

At the moment, all of Oliver’s loved ones were scattered around the world. Little Emma was the only constant in his life right now.

After everything that happened with Damien Darhk, his sister Thea left town to focus on herself. Fearing she was losing herself, she knew she had to get out before it got to the point where she barely recognized the person staring back at her in the mirror.  
She called every once in a while, but he had no information on her exact location. All he knew was that she was safe, and that she was with Roy.

Oliver didn’t care where she was, as long as she was happy.

Feeling he needed some time away from the city and the team, John reenlisted in the military. Although it meant leaving baby Sara and Lyla behind, it was something he needed to do for himself. Oliver hated to see him go, but if space was what he needed, he wouldn’t argue.

Lance left with Donna, and to Oliver’s luck, Felicity stayed behind. Since defeating Darhk, she had somehow managed to regain control of Palmer Tech, and was once again CEO.

With her back in a position of power and him busy with his duties as mayor, they only ever saw each other at night, when they worked together in the lair to protect the city from harm. Although, Oliver had reached out several times to spend time together outside of work, usually at his house, as friends and such. But Felicity was always reluctant, and often declined.

Just when he had started to feel completely alone in the world again, his best friend came home.

Tommy Merlyn. Party boy turned doctor. Oliver still had a hard time wrapping his head around that one.

A few years back, after he had narrowly survived being trapped in a collapsing building (caused by an event that his own father had started), Tommy decided to go back to college. Before dropping out of school, he had completed four years’ undergrad, and two years of medical school.

With all his reckless behavior, it was still hard to believe he had ever gotten that far.

But after his near-death experience, Tommy was a changed man. Because of his father’s “death”, he had inherited whatever money he had left. Tommy used that to put himself through school again, leaving town to pursue his medical degree elsewhere. He and Oliver kept in touch, of course, but Tommy kept his distance. He was focused on making something of himself – of being someone other than Malcom Merlyn’s son.

It had been three years, and he was succeeding quite well on his own when he heard the news about Laurel. Oliver had given him a call, hoping to catch a spare moment to talk, but there had been no answer. He left a message but didn’t expect a call back – Tommy was usually too busy to chat.

To Oliver’s surprise, Tommy showed up at his door the next day. He looked like hell – his dark hair was disheveled, eyes glassy and rimmed red from the crying he had done. He had opened his mouth to speak but Oliver barely let him get a word out before engulfing him in a fierce hug.

Tommy extended his stay in Star City when he found out that his best friend had been appointed as the new mayor of their hometown. No amount of words could fully describe how proud he was of Oliver; of the man he had become. They had both come so far in the past few years, both on the path to bettering themselves. It was amazing to see the fruit of their labor.

Learning that Oliver was about to embark on the journey of single-fatherhood influenced Tommy to move back home for good.

It wasn’t too much of a shock to discover that through all his years of debauchery, Oliver had fathered a child. The thing Tommy couldn’t wrap his head around was why he was the very last to know.

After a few moments of bickering Tommy let the whole thing slide, realizing that even if Oliver had tried to tell him before, he probably would have been too busy to take his call.

Nonetheless, there was no way he was going to abandon his best friend during his time of need.

With everyone leaving, the last thing he wanted was for Oliver to go through this new endeavor all on his own. Running a city and taking care of a child were no easy tasks.

So Tommy applied for residency at Starling General Hospital, almost immediately gaining acceptance since the hospital was in desperate need for doctors, and got himself an apartment in the city. It was strange being back home after fighting so hard to put that place behind him, but his best friend needed him whether he was willing to admit it or not. Besides, it’s nice to be surrounded by people who care about you.   
And he had always wanted to be an uncle.

Oliver was beyond grateful for all the help Tommy was lending his way. Ever since Darhk was defeated, his life had become a never-ending whirlwind.

By a unanimous decision made by the city council, he was elected mayor of Star City. After his efforts to keep the citizens of the town united, the board members saw him as the best fit for the job. And since the other candidates were wiped out, he really was the only guy still willing to take on such a challenge.

But Oliver barely had time to relish in his victory. Just a week before he was to be sworn in as mayor, volunteers at the Havenrock devastation managed to get a hold of him. He was told there was a little girl injured in the blast, one of the only surviving citizens, claiming to be his daughter.

In that moment, he felt as if the world stopped turning. When he had last seen Emma, he was pretty certain it was for the final time. After Darhk had captured her, he decided it was too dangerous for her to be a part of his life. Reluctantly, he asked Emma’s mother to relocate them to a new city. In the hopes of keeping her safe, he was never to know of their location.

The thought that they had been living in the very city that was decimated by the nuclear bomb Darhk had set off made him sick to his stomach.

Emma and the other survivors had been moved to a location just outside of Havenrock. He learned upon arrival that Emma’s mother had sadly perished in the blast. They found the little girl under a pile of debris, her mother’s lifeless body beside her. Despite the hazardous conditions surrounding her and the injuries she had suffered, Emma somehow managed to stay alive for two days before being rescued.

Curious as to how the volunteers figured out the connection between him and Emma, Oliver questioned how they knew that he was her father. According to everyone there, no one could get a word out of the child – she wouldn’t speak to anyone. The doctor’s called her silence a coping mechanism, informing him that she was showing signs of suffering from PTSD which was to be expected considering all that she had been through. But her silence made it impossible to gain the information they needed to identify her and notify next of kin.

The whole situation had begun to feel hopeless until one day when Emma had spotted him on the television. The news had been covering the chaos erupting in Star City, and his speech had been broadcast on several stations. When Emma saw him she urgently pointed to the television, gathering everyone’s attention. When asked if she knew him, she had nodded vigorously, never pulling her eyes from the screen. One of the volunteers asked if he was her father, and she simply smiled – the first smile they had ever seen grace her face since she’d been rescued.

It took several days to track him down, but they finally managed to get a hold of someone who got a hold of someone who got a hold of someone else, and the rest just fell into place.

Oliver desperately wanted to know how Emma found out the truth. Had her mother told her? Was she upset that he hadn’t told her himself?

But in that moment, none of those questions really mattered. As soon as he saw her with his own eyes, saw that she was alive and in one piece, Oliver rushed to her bedside and held her as tightly as she would allow.

While he held her in his arms, he kept thinking how everything could have ended so differently. How he could have lost her forever. Just like he had lost his father and mother. Just like he had lost Laurel.

He couldn’t lose Emma too, not ever.

There was no legitimate proof that he was her father, but seeing as though their priority was to get survivors placed in the safest conditions possible, the help group allowed Oliver to take Emma away. He was to be greeted by a social worker as soon as they arrived back in Star City, who would then discuss options for her future.

In Oliver’s mind, there were no other options to consider. Emma was his daughter, his family. And after everything they had both lost, he wasn’t going to let her go. Not again.

Thanks to his newfound connections in city hall, Oliver was able to speed up the custody proceedings.

His paternity test only confirmed what they had already known, but it was necessary to verify that he and Emma truly were family. Once that was out of the way, the court needed some proof that he had the means to provide for her. Since he was days away from becoming mayor, there was no need to inquire about income. However, he also needed to find a home for the two of them that met the courts standards.

At that point in time Oliver and Emma were staying with Tommy, but he knew that couldn’t go on forever. Although Tommy and Emma had taken a liking to each other; they seemed to enjoy each other’s company quite a bit.

Nonetheless, Oliver had to find a proper home for his child as soon as possible. This is where Felicity’s expertise came in.

It only took her a couple minutes to find houses for sale based off of certain criteria that she had deemed most important: location, what the neighborhoods were like, the ratings of the closest elementary schools. All these components played a part in the home he chose for them.

In the end he picked a house in a neighborhood called Glenn Cove. He wouldn’t admit it, but his decision was slightly influenced by the fact that the place reminded him so much of Ivy Town.

The house itself was a bit bigger than was necessary for just two people, but the second he saw the gray exterior with its white paneling and lush front lawn, the life that he and Emma could have together in that home had flashed before his eyes.  
[http://40.media.tumblr.com/9412594a57adece2c3f25e9a55abfdea/tumblr_mmzm95RbxC1sr2h89o1_500.jpg]

He imagined her running up the porch steps after school and straight into his arms, excited to tell him about the day she had. He imagined hanging her drawings on the refrigerator, telling her how beautiful her work was while he made her afternoon snack. He imagined putting her to bed each night with a story that ignited her imagination, granting her sweet dreams while she slept soundly.

He saw the life that they could have, the life he wanted them to have just by taking one look at that vacant house that sat in the middle of a quiet, quaint neighborhood.

Oliver bought the house on the spot, and after showing the place to Emma’s social worker, he signed the custody papers that afternoon.

Soon afterwards, Tommy and Lyla helped him and Emma get settled in their new home. Felicity came by as well to see the place and to give his little girl a gift.

It was a doll. One with dark hair and blue eyes just like Emma. Felicity had also bought the clothes and accessories that went with it, along with her blonde-haired companion so she’d have a friend.

Emma had smiled so wide when she saw the dolls, Oliver thought her face might split in two. It warmed his heart to see her so happy even if it was only for a few minutes.

After receiving her gift, Emma catapulted herself into Felicity, wrapping her arms around her neck as a way to thank her. Felicity hugged her back tightly, hiding her face in the child’s hair so no one could see the tears welling in her eyes.

That was the first and last time Felicity came over.

Because Oliver was preoccupied adjusting to his new situation, his official induction as mayor was pushed back by a week.

Of course his ability to perform as mayor came into question as news of Emma’s existence came to light. He didn’t know how the media found out, but they were sure having a heyday spinning stories and spewing speculations that made the situation appear more sordid than it actually was.

It was scandalous for a city official to have an illegitimate child. Yet many of the council members seemed to think his newfound fatherhood painted him in a better light. In their words, Oliver taking Emma in only proved how responsible he had become; his former party boy persona was far behind him.

Oliver had never cared what anybody thought of him, and he certainly didn’t give a damn now. All he cared about was doing right by his daughter and his city. No amount of negativity would ever stop him from doing that.

The alarm clock on Oliver’s bedside obnoxiously rang to life, causing his sleepy child to stir and him to push the thing the floor.

Emma’s curls shook as she raised her head from his chest, blinking her baby blue eyes rapidly while she got to her feet. Her tiny hands gripped his biceps as she shook him, urging him to get up too.

Oliver groaned, peering at her through half-open eyes. “I know, I know, it’s time to wake up.” He then sat up, rubbing his hands over his face while Emma continued to tug on his arm.

“Are you ready for your first day, bug?” he asked.

A smile lit up her face as she nodded vigorously, excitement brewing inside her. Seeing her so upbeat and jolly made him happy too. She had come a long way since her mother’s untimely passing.

When they had first moved in, there had been days where Emma never left the bed. She rarely smiled and barely had the motivation to do anything. Now three months had passed and she was as lively as a butterfly.

He knew what it was like to struggle the way she had. That was why moments like these usually brought him so much joy. But even though today was exciting for her, it was very bittersweet for him.

For three months, he and Emma had been glued at the hip. They were rarely ever apart and when they were, it wasn’t for very long.

But today would change all that. Emma was going to the first grade. She’d be in school all day while he worked at city hall, contributing his time to the city he promised to help rebuild.

Oliver knew this day was coming and he realized how important it was for Emma to interact with kids her age, but he had gotten so used to having her around, he wasn’t sure how he would survive their time apart.

Emma didn’t seem to be as troubled as he was, though. She exuberated excitement, prancing around his bedroom as she waited for him to get out of bed.

It was hard not to be affected by her chipper mood.

Oliver finally untangled himself from his bedsheets and stood up, stretching his tired limbs. Emma quickly moved his way, attaching herself to his right leg while she smiled up at him. He returned the sentiment, his own smile broadening as his child clung to him like a leech.

In all honesty, he was so not ready for this day. But she was.

And in the end, that was all that mattered.

**Author's Note:**

> So things have changed since I wrote this. I now have plans to make this into an actual fic, but the plot sort of follows the storyline of season 4. Emma is the child Oliver never knew about and the events that follow are the same: Oliver keeps Emma a secret, she gets kidnapped by Darhk, everyone finds out, and he and Felicity break up. 
> 
> While dealing with the breakup, Oliver must take care of Emma after her mother turns up dead. The responsibility of fatherhood helps to mold Oliver into the kind of man Felicity would be willing to marry. I also hope to explore how Felicity deals with the breakup and focuses on herself while the team helps Oliver adjust to his new role.
> 
> If you guys like the story as it is already, I might not pursue this alternate version. (Although I really, really want to so I'll probably write it anyway). Either way, I hope you enjoy!


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